


Pressure

by asterisks



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Denial of Feelings, Falling In Love, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Slow Build, single parent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-03-10 14:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3294311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asterisks/pseuds/asterisks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Damon has a 4-year-old daughter who he adores. After hearing so much about this "favorite teacher" that his child goes on and on about, he finally gets to meet him. What he doesn't expect is to be so intrigued by this "Mr. Elijah". From there, he has no idea what he's even doing- and neither does Elijah.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part Of Me

**Author's Note:**

> I have so many ideas for this story! I may or may not continue it but we shall see! Let me know what you all think!! c:

"Facetious." The little girl quips, stuffing another gummy bear into her mouth.

Damon just stares at her because he sure as hell never said that word to her. But okay, he'll bite and ask the question that he _knows_ his daughter is waiting for him to ask. "And what does that mean?"

She beams and shifts to her knees in the chair before leaning on the counter. Lily was a little too excited about this little vocabulary lesson. "It means bad humor for serious stuff, daddy. Facetious!"

She pronounces the word wrong again, but he knows what she's talking about and either way it's adorable. "Impressive." He grins and sits her juice down in front of her. "And who taught you this impressive word?" He's naturally curious because what's happening in the classrooms where that word would even come up?

"Mr. Elijah." She answers around her cup. "He says that advancing your vocabulary is advancing our understanding of the human language."

Damon goes back to staring at his daughter because who in the hell was _Mr. Elijah_? The first thing that comes to mind is some whack job harassing four year old children about conspiracy theories. He wasn't sure why he thought that but he just did. Besides, wasn't Lily's teacher a woman? Yeah, her name was Ms. Sommers. Jenna. "Lily, who's Mr. Elijah?"

Lily scoffs as if she was offended by his question. And Damon instantly sees himself in his child. That eye roll and sighing was practically him down to a tee. "Daddy." She deadpans. "Mr. Elijah is my favorite teacher ever."

"Oh, this sounds like serious business. My apologies for offending you, princess."

Lily smiles at him and reaches out for him. When her father is in reach, she affectionately pats his cheek. "It's okay, daddy."

Damon finds that disgustingly cute.

* * *

Damon and Lily spend the rest of their day in his bed watching Disney movies. Even though he'd want nothing more than to throw his television out of the window (because there is only so many Disney princess movies that he can take), he deals because his daughter is happy. If she's happy then he is happy. But he totally didn't sigh in relief when she asked to watch Toy Story next.

* * *

The weekend goes by faster than he would have liked but he couldn't really complain because having the world's best alarm clock makes life easier when Monday morning rolls around. Who can't have a great day when there are big blue eyes and chubby cheeks staring down at you with a bowl of fruit for breakfast? _Just for you_. He didn't even question how she got the bowl out of the cabinet but she's creative so he goes with that theory.

So from there, the day starts on a great note. He gets Lily bathed and dressed then to school with ten minutes to spare and makes it to work on time. That's an accomplishment because when he first began his journey as a parent, he was late for everything.

Lily has school from 8am until 3pm. He would complain because seven hours is a bit much for four year olds but the stuff that his child learns on the daily basis is enough for him to keep his mouth shut. Damon's usually there twenty minutes before Lily's class is released. But today he's running late due to some last minute contract signing. He calls the school and they inform the teacher- the infamous _Mr. Elijah._ The man he's totally not jealous of (even though he is) because he feels like this man is his child's idol.

When he finally arrives it's 4:10pm and he feels like trash for having his daughter wait at school for a little over an hour. His Camaro parks in front of the school. It's a no parking zone but who's going to hassle him right now? He's just picking up his kid.

Lily is sitting there on the bench outside the school with a man he's never seen before but he doesn't panic because the school wouldn't let her leave the classroom without supervision. So he puts two and two together and assumes that this is _him_. He kind of shocks himself because he doesn't realize that he's starting to refer to this man as _him_. When had that started? Ignoring his pointless jealously, he treads across the grass and right over to the bench. But before he could even get there he hears, "DADDY" and suddenly there's a small impact gripping onto his legs. His heart swells.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Lily-pop. Daddy had to scold your stubborn uncle at work." He leans down and scoops her up then perches her on his hip as he moves over to the man who is now standing. "Thank you for waiting with her."

Mr. Elijah just stares at Damon. " _You_ are her father?" He asks. He honestly didn't mean to make that sound as offensive as it most likely sounded. But it was more of a shock as in how much Lily looks like this man. The only difference is she has long wispy golden-brown hair. Hair that he assumes resembles her mother. Asides from that, she has this man's bright blue eyes...the same resting glare that he's convinced is hereditary now.

Damon hadn't registered the question because he was far too occupied with admiring the voice that just slipped past those lips. And his assumptive theory on this man being a conspiracy theorist is suddenly gone. With a voice like that he pegs the guy to be a poet- or some sort of speaker that just lures in the audience. His voice is deep but smooth like silk and it sort of sends chills up and down Damon's spine. He doesn't know how to feel about that either.

Elijah is pretty much in the same boat. He's not sure when he stopped but his comparison of Lily and her father had shifted to how Damon was all sharp cheek bones and long neck and slim—whoa! He had to stop that thought _immediately_. He counts his blessings when the man is finally speaking because his thoughts were traveling down a forbidden path that he really didn't need to go down.

"I am," he grins and Elijah shifts in his stance. "Do I look that un-parent like?"

Elijah shakes his head and looks at Lily who's resting her head on the man's shoulder and playing with his dark black hair. "Not at all." He finally answers. "You just seem...so very young." Not that younger people couldn't have children. He was just stating the obvious since this man looked really young.

Damon grins and adjusts Lily on his hip before raising his free hand to motion at his face. "Just 24." He wasn't that much younger than most people he knew who had children. Besides, he was relatively new at this whole father thing. He hadn't gotten custody of Lily until she was two, which he hated but he hadn't really had a say in the matter.

He had been seeing Katherine Pierce back when he was in college. His sophomore year. Damon was 19 and casual hookups were a normal thing for a young college student. Katherine was four years older than him and apparently had gotten pregnant after they split but never told him until she had no choice but to. He had received a phone call from her saying she was sick and that she never told him because she didn't want to disrupt his life. Katherine wanted him to finish school and not worry about taking care of a child.

That pissed him off because she had no right to keep that from him. He missed _two_ years of his daughter's life. He missed her birth! And considering that he has had her for two years now, he couldn't imagine his life without her. Granted he probably _wasn't_ ready to raise a child back then but it wasn't her choice to decide that. He would have tried his best. Regardless, he knew that Katherine meant well.

He couldn't stay mad at her though. She did call eventually even if half of the news was bad. There were complications during the birth and it followed her for two years. She refused to let her child go into foster care. A few days after he received that phone call, she died.

Damon snaps out of his thoughts when he realizes that they are just standing there— staring at one another. And he really doesn't want to go down that road of thinking of Katherine's death while meeting his daughter's ' _favorite teacher ever_ '. "So, my daughter pretty much worships the ground that you walk on."

Elijah smiles and extends his hand. "My reputation precedes me apparently." He tilts his head some then adds onto that. "I suppose a proper introduction is due. My name is Elijah Mikaelson. I don't believe we've formally met."

Damon takes the man's hand. _Elijah Mikaelson._ So his first name is Elijah. He sees why his daughter likes this man so much. He's so very well spoken and stunning too. Everything about him just seems right and Damon isn't sure how he feels about it. "Damon Salvatore. It's nice to meet you."

"Daddy, Mr. Elijah taught us how to make origami birds." She chimes in out of nowhere.

"Did he now?" He smiles and tries not to look _too_ hard at his daughter's teacher. "You'll have to show me when we get home."

Elijah slides his hands into his pockets and smiles, the little girl is adorable, very expressive and she talks with her hands. He wonders if Damon does that too.

"I guess we should get going." Damon says, nodding to his daughter's teacher.

"See you tomorrow!" The child says.

Elijah waves to her and turns to head back inside. "Drive safely." He says with a gentle wave to them both before disappearing through the double doors of the school.

* * *

Elijah isn't one to pry and he's damn sure not one to become fixated over someone that he doesn't even know. But ever since he met that man on Monday, that's all that is on his mind. Blue eyes, full rosy lips, and cheekbones for days, and okay— maybe he's a little bit fixated.

Kol likes to tease Elijah about it because apparently he knows Damon. Elijah found that out because he mentioned the name maybe once or twice to his brother (Kol claims that Elijah talks about the man all the time but who's being technical here? Elijah isn't), but Kol instantly recognized the name. How many Salvatore's were there in town? Not a lot.

And Elijah still hasn't heard the end of it.

He really hates that he's curious because even though his profession is based around curiosity and satisfying that curiosity with knowledge, he wants to just let this all go. He wants to forget that he even met this man.

But he can't.

Instead he asks Kol a series of closed-ended questions about Damon. It starts with, 'i _s he a decent person'._ Yes or no- straight to the point. But then those closed-ended questions turn into open-ended ones. He finds himself asking ' _how Kol knows him_ ' and ' _is he nice_ ' oh and, ' _what is he like_ '. He really can't help himself and he refused to accept that he's hung up on someone that he's met _once._

Being the snarky little brother that he is, Kol makes this as difficult for Elijah as he can because who is he to pass up an opportunity to torture his eldest brother? Elijah seldom gives his siblings material to work with when it comes to teasing. He's always on his toes since he's the oldest. So he reverses the questioning and pesters his brother about _why_ he needs to know all of these things about Damon Salvatore. It gets him nowhere but it's satisfying just to see Elijah flustered about something for once.

* * *

A week goes by and things die down. And by die down, Kol stops teasing his brother but Elijah keeps fixating.

It's Sunday morning and he's getting some shopping done because he's trying to be a functional human being. He's 27 and despises shopping like it's the plague. But he does it because he can't have Rebekah or Kol doing this for him. As much as he would prefer it, he knows he can't keep doing that.

Considering that it's such an early time to be shopping, the store is relatively empty and that definitely brings a smile to his face because it makes the process easier. There's something else that gets him smiling and it has to do with the blue-eyed distraction (that he has worked so hard to _not_ think about), standing in the cereal aisle with his daughter. He tries to ignore him because he doesn't want to fall back into that incessant pool of thoughts that overcomes him when his mind drifts to that man. But before he can make his b-line out of the cereal aisle, there's a loud shriek and a squeaky voice yelling, " _Mr. Elijah!_ " His escape is feeble.

He wants to curse under his breath or just keep walking and pretend that he doesn't hear it but that's rude. Besides, he's sure the people in the parking lot heard the little girl shouting his name. So he turns and smiles in her direction. She looks so happy to see him and he swears he heard Damon scolding her for yelling in the store like that. But how could the girl take him seriously when he's smiling at her like she just won the Olympics?

He pushes his basket towards Damon's and Lily is smiling widely at him. "Good morning, Lily." He smiles and she beams, jumping up and down in place. She's wearing a little twirly green dress that suits the child because she's adorable. Elijah does his best to ignore Damon. That's very rude, but it's what best when considering his dilemma. But Damon is suddenly looking at him and smiling brightly and _fuck_.

Just fuck.

"Good morning, Mr. Salvatore." Right. That's good. Be polite, don't use first names because that's crossing a line in Elijah's mind.

Damon scoffs and rolls his eyes. Elijah sees where Lily gets it from. "Seriously, just call me Damon. You're making me feel like a 60 year old man."

Elijah just watches him but nods nonetheless. "Good morning, Damon."

There's that smile again that makes Elijah's knees weak. "Good morning, _Mr. Elijah_." He coos.

Is that flirtation that Elijah detects? He's not sure but he sure as hell likes— no, he _loves_ how Damon just said his name. So playful and suggestive. A dangerous mixture honestly.

Fuck.

That's becoming Elijah's default word.

Lily returns to looking over the cereal while her father talks to her teacher. Picking the right cereal is serious business.

"Please suggest a cereal brand to her. We've been in this aisle for fifteen minutes and I'm about ready to discontinue everything then burn it all down."

"That's a bit drastic, don't you think, Mr. — Damon?"

Damon just shrugs and lazily leans on the basket he's been pushing around the store for about an hour. "Drastic times calls for drastic measures right?" He lets his eyes trail down to Lily while she quizzically looks over the many choices. He decides now that he hates Sunday shopping when cereal is involved.

Elijah lets his eyes trail over Damon. "Perhaps these will suffice." He reaches out and grabs the first box that he sees, Reese's Puffs.

Lily eyes the box before she reaches out and hugs it close to her chest. "Thank you." She looks at her father and smiles. "I'm ready daddy."

"Thank god." He stands up straight and that helps Elijah decide that he quite likes Damon in that black sweater. "And thank _you_." He focuses back on his daughter's teacher and points a finger at him. "I owe you one." With that, he's waving and heading down the aisle with his daughter _attempting_ but failing at pushing the basket too.

Elijah spends the rest of his day with Damon's voice on repeat.

He really hates it.

Except he doesn't. He loves it.

* * *

A few more days pass and now Klaus is now pestering him. Apparently Kol has a bigger mouth than Rebekah.

"Now, now, no need to glare, brother. I'm not one to judge. I am just curious as to when _you_ started pining. Elijah Mikaelson does not pine." He teases, leaning against the wall by the entrance into the living room.

Elijah gulps down his bourbon faster than he intended to but can anyone blame him? He had survived Kol's interrogation but Klaus is a different story. His methods are more calculated and he manages to get under anyone's skin with ease. "What are you going on about? Is it appropriate to assume that you have been conversing with our little brother?"

Klaus just laughs and moves then sits on the arm of the couch. "He tells me you're obsessed with his friend from college."

Elijah feels like the Salvatore's eye roll is somehow contagious. "I am not obsessed. I believe you have been misinformed, Niklaus."

"Sure."

"..."

"So who is this mystery friend that you are so fond of? I mean he must be something to have you so enamored with him."

"God, you are insufferable."

"Avoiding the question. Is this denial that I am detecting?" He genuinely wants to know more because it's not often that Elijah gets like this over a person. Klaus has seen his brother hooked on a person before and it always is meaningful. So if this guy was really eliciting this kind of reaction from Elijah, the guy had to be something. And Kol won't tell him anything else other than their brother having a crush. Kol says he doesn't know much more but Klaus knows better. He knows Kol is keeping the leverage for himself.

"It is irritation, brother."

"Sure." Klaus repeats.

"We are done here." Elijah just leaves.

Even though it's _his_ house. 


	2. Self Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elijah continues to fixate, Klaus and Kol continue to pester Elijah, Caroline and Stefan spoil Lily, and Damon is saved by the prince by the name of Lily. From there, everyone discovers just how small the world actually is.

So it turns out that Damon does talk with his hands. That's just another thing that Lily gets from her father. Except Elijah finds it so different when it's Damon. He's so gesticulate and expressive. Elijah really likes it. He finds this out when Damon comes into the school to sign Lily up for their upcoming field trip. The class is going to the dinosaur museum.

Damon shows up first because Lily has woken him up at the crack of dawn saying this was the most important event in her entire life. So naturally he gets to the school at exactly 7am regardless of how comfortable the seats in his car are. He contemplates just taking a quick nap in the parking lot until 8am. But he figures that since it's Friday and he took this day off from work, and there's a free day for the school, that the faster he gets this over with the faster he can go back home and sleep.

Elijah is sitting at his desk when Damon walks into the classroom. He was half expecting Lily to be following close behind but the little girl never shows. His eyes dart back to Damon and the man is smiling at him. "Early morning?" He asks, pushing a few folders off to the side on his desk.

Damon grins. "Something like that. Lily came screeching and jumping on my bed at 6 o'clock this morning. She said something along the lines of, ' _daddy, you have to go first. This is the most important day ever. I love dinosaurs_ ' so I really had no choice in the matter." He shrugs and moves closer to Elijah's desk. He eyes the art work tapped around the edges. It's obvious that it's from his students and he spots one that has Lily's name on it. It's of her, himself, Caroline and Stefan.

He loves it and has half the mind to just take it. But that would be rude. So he focuses back on Elijah. "So, dinosaur museum? Sign up."

"Yes, of course." Elijah pulls open his desk drawer and grabs a clip board with a pen attached. "The first sheet is for the parents who are driving there themselves. The second sheet is for those riding the school bus for the entire trip."

Damon takes the offered clipboard and flips to the second page because Lily made it clear that she wants the full field trip experience. He signs their name and returns the clipboard. "She'll be pleased to know she's getting the whole trip adventure."

Elijah just smiles. "Honestly, I'm a bit surprised that she isn't here to sign it herself."

Damon laughs. "She probably would have been, but she's with my brother and his fiancé for the weekend. And she loves them more than signing her name. Shocker really." He remembers the phase that Lily went through after learning how to write. She wrote her name on _everything_. "She did tell me to tell you hi, though."

Elijah slides the clip board to the edge of his desk for the other parents who would be arriving soon. "Tell her that I said hello." He smiles softly before focusing back down on his folders. Staring was bad.

See, this visit wasn't so bad.

"Since it's pretty much an ungodly hour, I'm going to let you get back to your teacher duties." He grins at him and waves a hand while making his way to the door. "Have a great morning, _Mr. Elijah_."

Elijah takes it back. It was worse than bad.

* * *

Stefan loves spending time with his niece. Because obviously she's the best niece in the world, hands down. And okay, maybe he spoils her but isn't that an uncle's job? As soon as Lily was dropped off their living room was instantly converted into a huge fort, courtesy of Caroline Forbes: the queen of all forts.

Lily loves it, Caroline spoils her more than anyone and Stefan ends up getting talked into so much stuff because of it. Caroline has taught her the art of persuasion. He feels like he should warn Damon but what fun would that be?

When dinner time rolls around, they make homemade pizza and eat in their fort while watching Tangled two times in a row. Then Caroline and Lily play ' _rock, paper, scissors'_ to decide which movie is next. Caroline is playing for Lilo & Stitch and Lily plays for Toy Story 3. They keep tying so Stefan gets to pick. He goes for Finding Nemo. But before the night is over, they watch all three movies and Lily falls asleep in Caroline's lap.

They get her to bed just before 10 o'clock in the guest room and fix the living room back to its original state. And they totally don't continue watching Disney movies until 1 o'clock in the morning.

* * *

The next morning Caroline is up bright and early craving everything. So she turns the television onto Lily's favorite show, Arthur, while they sit at the counter smiling at one another. "What do you want for breakfast, honey?" Caroline asks, tapping the counter lightly.

Lily shrugs. "Anything. Daddy says that I'm an easily pleased kid."

Caroline laughs because it's so accurate. Lily is the first 4-year-old that she's ever met who isn't picky. But she makes a mental note to tell Damon that his daughter is in that tape recorder phase. "Waffles?" She suggests.

She beams and nods. "WAFFLES!"

Stefan wakes up twenty minutes later. Not by choice because Lily came into the room shaking him violently while sitting on his stomach. "What's wrong?"

"Uncle Steffy, it's time for waffles."

He sits up and rolls Lily onto the bed. "That sounds like enough motivation to get up." He lightly pinches her cheek then gets out of bed. "I'll race you-" the girl is gone before he can even get his sentence out.

* * *

Stefan surfaces from the bedroom five minutes later after Lily left. He makes his way into the kitchen and kisses Caroline before grabbing orange juice from the refrigerator.

"Ew." Lily comments.

"What?" Caroline asks.

"Orange juice."

"We have apple."

She grins and Stefan swears she's Damon's clone.

Once breakfast is finished, the three of them eat while watching Wall-E and Lily promptly tells them that Wall-E isn't a boy when they refer to the robot as _'he_ '. They stare at her for a moment then Caroline suddenly realizes that neither of the robots have genders because they are in fact _robots_. Stefan laughs because he can tell that Caroline is reevaluating her life now. She finds it so messed up that people, including herself, forced genders on robots because one _looked_ male and the other _looked_ female.

Then she wonders how Lily's learning all of these things at her age. Because it should be a universal thing. Adults can learn a lot from children about how stereotypic society is.

After breakfast they go outside. Caroline had bought a playground set because Lily was at their house enough for them to have it. Plus, she still doesn't know that she's pregnant yet (she thinks she's getting over a mini cold), so it'll be useful in the future.

* * *

On Sunday afternoon Damon arrives to pick up Lily. When he walks through the door, the girl stops what she's doing and runs to her father shouting she missed him.

He picks her up and examines the yellow sunflower dress she's wearing. Then he looks up to see Caroline wearing an identical one. "Blondie, what have you done?"

"Lily and I went out for smoothies and accidentally ended up at the dress store. Annnnd accidentally ended up buying six matching dresses."

Damon rolls his eyes because Caroline is so wrapped around Lily's finger. But he can't judge, so is he. "Six dresses? You're so weak!"

Caroline points an accusing finger at him. "Says the man who went crazy with teddy bears for her."

Stefan raises both of his hands and says, "we are _all_ weak. I bought her some bows for her hair."

They all collectively sigh because it's true. They are the _weakest_ because the majority of time, Lily doesn't even ask for stuff. They just see it and get it for the child.

* * *

When they get home, Damon makes snacks for Lily any they play a few games. Hide-and-seek is first and Damon always fails miserably because the Salvatore boarding house is too big for him to find the small child who's obviously secretly a ninja. Then there's tea party but Lily calls it extreme tea party because there's wrestling involved. Last they play princess. Damon has no idea how to play, he assumes that his kid just made the game up off the top of her head so he's down with learning how to play.

Lily has on her princess dress with pants on underneath it. She's also wearing a Batman cape and a doctor who bowtie. Damon finds it the most adorable thing ever and he plans to get a picture of it before she changes. His daughter likes so many different heroes.

They build a little pillow fort on her desk and around the area. She then tells him that he has to stay there and wear the tiara until she comes to save him. Then she says, "Mommy said girls can be princes' too. And boys can be princesses." And Damon has to agree because women are badass and can do anything that they put their minds to. Plus, Katherine saved his ass all the time.

"Mommy also said that boys can save the day but it's good for girls to know how to save themselves. AND that _everyone_ needs a little saving sometimes."

And suddenly Damon's heart is aching because he really misses Katherine. She clearly had been instilling great things into their child from day one. "That's right, Lily-pop. Mommy was absolutely right. So come save daddy before the mean dragon eats me."

She smiles and uses her fairy wand to slay the dragon plush toy and the other bears that were lined up around her father. "It's okay daddy. You're safe now, go be free!"

"Hey! I'm not a woodland creature!"

Lily laughs. "I can draw some whiskers on your cheeks and then you can be one."

"Nah, I'm good to go on the whiskers."

* * *

Elijah likes to think that the pestering from Kol and Klaus is over for good but that is just so very naive of him to think. _Why_ would they actually stop? Seriously. There was no reason for them too. Elijah had accidentally given them so much to work with just by mentioning Damon once when they were out for drinks.

When his wonderful sister comes waltzing into his house the next weekend, he's so relieved. They are thick as thieves and stick together while Kol and Klaus find ways to get under their skin. He's happy she's home because their sister is the baby of the family and the only girl of four children. It's her 21 birthday coming up and he's happy to be able to celebrate it with her. Of course he has something big planned for her.

Kol wants to buy Rebekah her first _legal_ drink as an adult. Klaus wants to take her to an art gallery but the best part is she's getting to network with photographers and big names in the fashion world. That's why she left for college in New York.

Elijah on the other hand wants to get the family together because it doesn't get to happen often. So when all of the Mikaelson's are in town, it's expected to have a huge gathering.

For now though, he's happy with getting to spend time with his sister.

"I am happy to tell you that I've heard about this mystery guy all the way from New York. I assume they are giving you a hard time?"

"Do you expect them not to?"

She smiles. "Of course not. They are utilizers, Elijah. They never pass up great opportunities."

When Kol finally arrives, he practically squeezes the life out of Rebekah. What? He missed her. Then Klaus arrives shortly after that and rushes right over to their sister. "Welcome home, baby sister."

She smiles widely and basks in the attention because it's been almost two years since she's been home to visit. "It's good to be home."

* * *

A few hours after her arrival, they're all sitting around the table in Elijah's home talking, catching up. And of course, the topic of Elijah's love life surfaces and he wants to tape up Kol's mouth permanently. "Oh come on, Kol." Rebekah murmurs. "Do I need to remind you of your enormous crush on my friend Bonnie?"

Kol pauses because he thought that Rebekah had forgotten about that.

Klaus grins. "I remember her."

Rebekah points to Klaus. "And you! Your obsession with Cami."

Klaus joins Kol in their silence. Elijah beams with satisfaction because Rebekah always wins. She knows how to shut down her brothers in a heartbeat. It's a talent that she was just born with. Elijah loves it.

* * *

October 8th is Rebekah's birthday and the party is in twenty minutes. Elijah isn't sure how it happened but more people than he intended were invited but he doesn't care. The more the merrier. Besides, no one threw a party like the Mikaelson's. It was a gift.

Around 7:50 people start arriving. The parking is disastrous because there are only so many cars that can fit in the parking lot of the rented out ballroom. But no one is freaking out so he's not worried about it. Instead, he mans the door greeting people as they enter. There are a few new faces that he figures are invites from his siblings but the majority are familiar faces from their childhoods.

What he isn't expecting to see is a pair of familiar blue eyes staring at him. And clearly his shock was noticed because he swore he heard Kol laughing somewhere behind him. Which was understandable because he was just staring at Damon. Again. The man was here, dressed in a white button up with a black vest over it and a pair of black dress pants _that was a perfect fit_. And here he thought he loved Damon in that black sweater.

"Well, we meet again, _Mr. Elijah_." He coos as a few people maneuver around them.

Elijah internally groans because he **_really_** wishes Damon would stop saying his name like that. "May I ask why you are here?" Just curious.

Damon isn't fazed by the question. He just answers like Elijah isn't gawking at him. "Rebekah's 21st birthday." He holds up a pink bag with fancy cursive lettering on it. "Bought her a gift and everything."

"I was not aware that you knew my sister." He's still is in shock.

"Well yeah, I met her- wait, _sister_?" He blinks then it all hits him. "So Kol is your brother?" When Elijah nods he folds his arms across his chest. "Well damn. Small world. I met Rebekah through Kol...who just so happens to be the brother of my daughter's teacher. This is some kind of inception." He reaches out and fixes Elijah's tie before moving past him. "Well, how about we get this party started! Where's the birthday girl? There's catching up that needs to happen."

Elijah dies a little. He really loves how Damon is just so comfortable with everything— like touching.

But he hates Kol so much right now.

So much.

Since Elijah was whisked away by Damon, Kol takes over with greeting people at the door. And you know what? He now believes in karma. And it works fast because after a few more people enters the ballroom, _he_ sees a familiar face that leaves him speechless.

He sees Bonnie.

 _Rebekah!_ Always six steps ahead.


	3. Framework

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elijah officially becomes a constant in not only Lily's life- but in Damon's as well. From there, Lily gets to spend some time with Elijah and his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally Lily appreciation!

All it takes is one non-school related one-on-one conversation with Damon to clarify things for Elijah. And his conclusion is simple:

He is absolutely fucked.

It has been a few weeks since Rebekah's birthday party and a lot has changed. For one, he is currently sitting on his living room floor with Lily who is so strategically putting little polka dot bows in his hair. Why? Well, he's not exactly sure because really, who's able to say no to Lily? Elijah sure can't.

It has been a week since Damon called in to the school about being late. As much as he hates it, he doesn't have much of a choice. But he feels terrible about it.

Then there is Kol, the savior for Damon when he offers to babysit for that extra hour. So there's a new arrangement put in place. Lily goes home with Elijah, and he and Kol watch the child until Damon is able to pick his child up after work. It works, it's functional and Lily loves it.

So that brings him back to his current situation; _being completely and utterly wrapped around this child's finger._

* * *

There's about an hour left before Damon leaves work so Elijah has Lily's things packed and he head's to Klaus' home. Kol is already there which is good because he should be there so Lily can officially meet him.

As soon as he walks through the door, his brother stops him, raising a brow at the child who is perched on his hip. "Brother, whose child have you napped?" He asks.

Lily doesn't even give Elijah a chance to reply because she's speaking immediately. "Daddy had grown up work to do. And it is very rude to not say hello to new people!" She scolds.

Klaus just puts his hands up to show he's meaning no harm. The child is so sassy. "I am so sorry. Hello, sweetheart." And smiles and extends his hand to Lily.

She smiles and says, "I'm Lily Alexandria Salvatore. It is nice to meet you." She's polite. She's been taught to use her manners.

Klaus adores the child already.

* * *

Kol jumps right in, engaging with the child and they just hit it off. Elijah thinks it's because Kol is such a child at heart, but he knows it's because Kol is just naturally good with kids. It's a trait that they all seem to have.

It's only been thirty minutes and they're all in the living room surrounding the table. Lily is staring intently at Kol as the room falls silent. There are two other sets of eyes on them but she's too focused on the man in front of her to notice.

Kol is staring right back at the child, raising a brow as he grins. The tension is high and no one is really moving. Just focus and steady breathing. "Alright, kid. You ready?" He asks.

Lily nods, taking a deep breath before speaking. "I'm ready, Kols."

"You first, then." He says, grinning from the nickname that the child has given him.

Lily nods again and shifts in her spot as she places all of cards down on the table facing up. "I have a king, queen, nine, eight, and a five!"

Kol groans and slumps back against his chair. "Oh god, you beat me _again_!"

Klaus laughs and claps his hands together as he takes a seat next to the child. "Fantastic. That's a flush." He has been watching their games since they started them.

Lily beams and throws her hands in the air. "I am the queen! Bow down, peasant!"

"Kid," Kol starts, eyes focusing back on Lily. "Who taught you how to play poker?"

"Mommy." She answers as if every mother taught their children how to play poker.

"I see."

Klaus keeps laughing. He really can't help it because come on, this child is one of a kind.

"Both of you are terrible influences." Elijah chimes in. "Need I remind you that she is four years old? You should not be encouraging poker."

Kol scoffs. "This four year old has skills, Elijah. I will definitely encourage her natural skills. Isn't that right, Miss Lily?"

Lily nods as she sips the apple juice that Elijah handed her. "You lost, so you have to pick up the toys."

Elijah groans. Damon is going to think he's the worst babysitter in history.

Kol pretends to whimper and slumps until he rolls to the floor. "My heart. I won't survive this loss!"

Lily hands her juice to Klaus and slides from the couch. She kneels down next to Kol and frowns. "Don't be sad. I'll help you clean up. It's okay." She leans over him, squishing his cheeks together with her little hands. "Okay?" She smiles and everyone in the room melts because she's the cutest.

Kol smiles up at her and nods. "Yeah, thanks, kid. How can I be sad when you're so sweet?" He jolts up and grabs her before jumping to his feet. "Let's clean up and then I'll show you Klaus' secret painting room."

Lily squeaks and glances at Klaus. "Nik! You have a secret painting room?"

"Well it's not secret anymore, sweetheart!"

Elijah just shakes his head because how on earth did this four year old manage to turn his brothers into fawning worshiping puppies? It's a true talent. He could only imagine what would happen when Rebekah meets the child.

* * *

It has become a regular thing now for Lily to just leave school with Elijah. Between work and those tedious long lasting meetings, Damon is constantly late with picking Lily up. And he refuses to have his child waiting an extra hour at school for him. He's skeptical of it at first but after actually talking with the man that entire night at Rebekah's birthday party, he knows his daughter is in good hands. Plus, Kol, despite his constant teasing of his brother, he looks up to Elijah and that's all the reassurance that Damon needs.

This marks the third time that Lily is babysat by Elijah. It's usually always on Mondays because that's when all of the companies decide to reevaluate their standing contracts. But at least it's less stressful since he knows his child isn't waiting for him to show up. That helps him through the meetings.

After Lily's first time leaving with Elijah, she was able to meet Kol and Klaus and she absolutely loves it. That's why it took a few tears and bear grip hugs to convince her father to let her stay for one more hour. But this time around, they are at Elijah's house and she would be sad because she wants to see everyone again but she's in Mr. Elijah's house and there's a blonde woman sitting in the living room. She's far from shy but she also knows not to talk to strangers so she stands behind Elijah, holding onto his pant leg.

Elijah just smiles and reaches down to pet the child's head. "Lily, this is my sister Rebekah."

Lily peeks around her teacher and smiles widely when the woman waves at her.

"Rebekah, this is Lily." Elijah's says, finishing his introductions.

"Well aren't you precious. It's very nice to meet you, Lily. I've heard a lot about you."

Lily giggles and moves herself completely from behind Elijah and makes her way over to Rebekah. "Hi, Rebaker."

Rebekah laughs because the child can't pronounce her name but it's so damn cute. "Oh, sweetie."

"I'm sorry."

Rebekah shakes her head. "Don't apologize. Just call me aunt Beks."

Lily squeaks. "Aunt Beks!"

Elijah shakes his head and heads into the kitchen. This must be punishment for something he did. Because this child was attaching herself to his entire family with such ease. How was that even possible?

From that day on, Lily and Rebekah are inseparable. Damon just knew it was going to happen because all Lily talks about is Elijah and aunt Beks.

* * *

Friday finally comes and Damon's faced with big teary eyes and a pouty lip. She's shoving a note into his hand and sniffling quietly. It's about 'Mommy and Me' swim classes but it's only for women and children under the age of eight. Damon feels heartbroken because he wants her to have things like this but he can't give it to her. Damon's prepared to beg the director to make an exception for Lily but one of his favorite blondes comes to the rescue.

Rebekah stops by a few times a week to visit Lily and Damon is happy that she does because Lily loves surprises. And what's a bigger surprise than having someone volunteer to give your daughter the one thing that she wants the most?

Rebekah wipes the tears away from Lily's eyes and promptly tells her that there is no time for tears because bathing suits are waiting to be bought.

Damon almost loses his life when he attempts to tell Rebekah that Lily has nearly 14 bathing suits thanks to Caroline. But he figures out what she's doing so he shuts his mouth and watches them waltz out of his house.

* * *

Hours later they return and Lily is hugging two bags close to her chest. She's excited and wiggling when Damon picks her up and carries her to the living room. "Okay, honey, show me what you got today."

She grins and tells him to close his eyes as she digs through the first bag. "Okay, daddy."

Damon blinks and lets his eyes wander over a cute little green one piece with little white stars on them. It suits her really. "Lily-pop, that's the prettiest bathing suit that I've ever seen."

"You haven't seen the second one." Rebekah coos.

Lily grabs the second bag and pulls out another one piece with a connected skirt. It's yellow with red fishes on it. Lily's wiggling so Damon knows which one she's going to wear tomorrow.

"That's my favorite." Damon says.

"Mine too." Rebekah agrees.

Lily slides out of her father's lap and dumps the rest of the contents of the bag out onto the floor. There are water wings, goggles, flippers, and a blow up floaty. Damon sighs and throws Rebekah a knowing look and she just grins.

"There is always a reason to shop, Damon."

* * *

Saturday morning comes early for Damon because it's 4am and Lily is crying. It's a faint cry and Damon jolts up to find his child standing in the kitchen making grabby hands for the refrigerator. She's half asleep and cranky and he knows she's thirsty. He forgot to leave out her juice cup the night before and he feels awful about it. It became routine when he realizes that his child habitually wakes up around the same time for something to drink. She comes right out of her room and straight into the kitchen to get water or juice. Whichever she decides to have after dinner. She refuses to wake him up so he just kept the cup somewhere that she could reach it.

So he picks her up and rocks her as he paces the kitchen for about three minutes. She settles down and he kisses her cheek to make sure she's okay. That's when he grabs her juice and lets her sip on it while they head to his bedroom. Once she finishes, she crawls into his bed and quickly falls asleep. It's moments like those that melts Damon's heart.

* * *

Several hours later he's woken again but this time by small hands squishing his cheeks together. It's Lily sitting on his chest and smiling down at him. "Daddy, aunt Beks will be here soon. We have to get up."

Damon groans but smiles as he sits up and wraps an arm around his daughter before pushing himself out of bed. He has her hooked under his arm as her feet dangle. She's so tiny. "Alright, munchkin, time to get ready."

Damon gets her bathed, clothed, and fed before Rebekah arrives a little around 11 o'clock. The Mommy and Me swim class doesn't start until noon so they have time. But according to Lily, they are running late.

"Are you ready to hit the road?" Rebekah murmurs.

Lily nods and kisses her father and says they will be back soon. And then they both are heading out of the door.

* * *

Lily is a brave child and she likes to try new things. But the pool is bigger than she thought it would be. It's nothing like the kiddie pool that she has in her backyard. She's scared of course but she's still going to do it because it's what she wants the most.

They change into their swimsuits and the instructor blows the whistle for everyone to get in the water. Rebekah sits near the edge then drops into the water with ease before facing the child. Lily is just standing there because she still isn't sure about this whole _humongous swimming pool business_. But Rebekah is reassuring her that everything will be fine so Lily steps closer.

Rebekah reaches out and Lily jumps and the water splashes. She squirms with a slight whine but once she relaxes, she feels okay. Her legs are wrapped tightly around the woman but that's okay. It's expected.

"See, it's not so bad, right?"

Lily smiles and finally loosens her legs from their vice grip. "It's not bad." She realizes that her water wings help her float and that opens up an entirely new door for her.

Rebekah smiles and lifts her up out of the water and swirls her around quickly. "You're like a dolphin!"

Lily squeaks and kicks her legs to splash the water. "I'm a dolphin!"

After more time has passed, Lily is okay with Rebekah letting go and the instructor is teaching the children how to doggy paddle. Lily has the hang of it and is so excited to move on to the next move. She deems the back stroke as her favorite but she won't do it unless Rebekah holds her arms under her the entire time. Lily says that she might fall but Rebekah doesn't have it in her to tell the child that physics doesn't work that way.

The last thirty minutes of class is free time and Rebekah puts on Lily's goggles and little breathing piece because they are going diving. She holds her close and counts to three then they go under. It took them three tries, but Lily felt better about being submerged into water when she saw Rebekah do it first.

They spend the rest of the time swimming around the pool. Most of that time Lily was riding on Rebekah's back with her arms wrapped around the woman's neck. She felt like she was on a boat.

When the final whistle is blown, everyone climbs out of the pool and heads to the showers. Lily likes the swim classes. She's glad that Rebekah took her.

Lily loves her aunt Beks.

* * *

Sunday is slow and quiet because Lily is spending the day with Stefan at the zoo. Caroline is still out of town so it was just the two of them. He would have tagged along but sleep had taken over. Plus, he would let Stefan and Lily have their uncle-niece bonding time.

The house had been empty for about five hours. Lily was picked up around 8am and somehow it was noon already when he is waking up to his doorbell echoing throughout his home. He is tempted to ignore it and continue with his peaceful sleeping but its Sunday afternoon. It must be important if someone took time out of their day to stop at his house.

After the second ring he forces himself out of bed and shuffles to the front door. He doesn't even check to see who it is, he just pulls the door open.

Oh.

It's Elijah.

" _Mr. Elijah_ , you have perfect timing." He's teasing but at the same time he is serious. He was sleeping so well.

Elijah's parts his lips to speak but nothing comes out. He's torn between reaching out and touching every inch of the exposed skin of the shirtless man before him or with kissing the lips that keep letting Damon say his name like that. But both of those would be inappropriate because...well reasons.

Damon just smirks. "Cat got your tongue, teacher?" He waits for a reply but still nothing. So he steps aside and motions for Elijah to come in. "Well how about you step inside and gather your thoughts while I drown myself in coffee."

Elijah feels stupid but he can't help it that Damon gets him like this. "Good afternoon." He manages out as he steps into the Salvatore's residence, trying so hard to ignore how good Damon's bed head looks. "My apologies for the intrusion. Lily left her backpack at Klaus' home."

Damon smiles at him and takes the offered bag before heading to the kitchen. "Thanks." He says, grinning as he sets the bag in an empty chair. "How do you take your coffee?"

 _With a side of vodka_ for being an idiot and to drown himself from the awkwardness. "Black."

"Ah, good. Creamers are for the weak."

Elijah wonders if it would be rude to offer Damon a shirt. Because how is he supposed to focus on anything but smooth pale skin that's sitting directly in front of him? He tries to calm down by keeping his eyes on Damon's face. His really nice face. His really nice face with gorgeous eyes and nice lips and...

"You're either plotting a murder or slowly dying from how terrible my coffee is." He grins and takes another sip. Clearly things aren't awkward to him. He just figures Elijah is a man of few words. Whatever it is, he really likes it.

"Oh, no. The coffee is great, thank you." He looks down at the cup then back up to Damon. "Rebekah told me she took Lily swimming." There, small talk is good.

Damon nods, sipping his coffee. "Yeah, she's been talking about it since Rebekah dropped her off yesterday. Just wait, she's going to be telling you the diving story when she sees you. Prepare yourself." He wasn't kidding either. Lily had told him that she couldn't wait to tell Elijah about her swimming pool adventures.

Elijah looks up from his coffee again and just smiles. "I look forward to it."

* * *

A week passes and Damon finds himself inviting Elijah over for breakfast. Lily insists on it but Damon wants him there as well so it works.

It's early when Elijah arrives and Lily races Damon to the door but she needs his help with getting the door open because she's small and the door is heavy. But once it's open, Lily latches onto Elijah's leg and starts telling him about how she missed him and how she's going to take a karate class when she gets older. Her thought process is all over the place all of the time.

Breakfast hasn't even started but Damon insists on cooking and Elijah offers to help but no. Damon boots him out of the kitchen and that leaves Lily and Elijah to keep themselves entertained. That works out fine because Lily has a list of games lined up for them to play.

It's really funny how easily Elijah fits in with Damon and Lily. There's no intrusion and awkward feeling with his presence. He just fits in like a missing puzzle piece. Damon wonders if this is how things are supposed to be. He doesn't get much time to focus on the question because he hears his daughter crying and he drops everything that he's doing and darts into the living room. Lily has fallen off the couch and hits her knee pretty hard on the wooden floor. He can't wait to get carpet installed. But before Damon can swoop in, he stops right in his tracks when he sees Elijah scooping her up from the floor. He watches as the man cradles Lily close and rubs her back. He's shushing her and wiping at her tears. He faintly hears him whispering, " _don't cry, I've got you, sweetheart. It's okay. I promise._ " The crying stops soon after and she's sniffling against his chest. He's so good with her.

Damon thinks he's in love.

After that, Lily and Elijah just join Damon in the kitchen while he makes the waffles. And Lily is swiping pieces of cheese from the bowl Damon has sitting near the eggs that he's going to pour it into. Elijah's not going to tell. And Damon's not going to tell her that he sees her. It's a great relationship really.

* * *

Breakfast is done in no time and they're all at the table and Lily gets Elijah to sit next to her and that's fine except he's directly across from Damon and he _really_ doesn't need to see the man at this angle. Not again. He hates staring directly at him because sometimes his quick glances turn into longing gazes and lingering thoughts begin to stir. So he tries to focus on something else so he's relieved when Lily asks him to cut up her waffles. But he's not okay when he hears what comes out of her mouth next.

"Mr. Elijah, are you going to marry my daddy?" She asks as if she's talking about the weather.

Elijah chokes on the egg that he was chewing on and he hears Damon's groan _loud and clear_.

"Lily, baby, you can't go around asking people that. You're going to get daddy engaged or something." Although, his child has great taste because wow. She sure knows how to pick out a nice husband for her father. He's grinning and Elijah's face is actually a little red. "I'm curious though, why do you think that?"

"Cause you both smile at each other like they do in the movies."

Damon just grins and Elijah dies a little. Surely if Lily notices him staring and smiling at Damon...then _Damon_ notices too. Great.

Just great.

While Elijah recovers- _or attempts to_ , Lily is stealthily swiping strawberries from Elijah's plate. He doesn't even notice.

"Lily." Damon says, watching her swipe the man's fruit. "Why?"

"Because your plate is too far away, daddy." Plus, it always tastes better when it's from someone else's plate.

Damon groans again. His daughter is utterly ridiculous. He loves it so much though.

Elijah catches her the fourth time and just smiles and ends up turning his plate to the other side so she can get the rest. What a great team.

* * *

After breakfast, they're all sitting on the couch watching a movie of Lily's choice. So of course it's Disney. It's always Disney. But she falls asleep halfway through and it's not even close to nap time. But Damon doesn't mind. He'll just have to make sure she stays up and plays a lot before bed time so she isn't up all night. She's in Elijah's lap and to his surprise, he's asleep to. Damon just smiles because it's really cute at how much Lily loves this man and how good Elijah is with her. It warms his heart.

It's quiet and he tries his best to get off the couch without waking anyone. But he manages to pry Lily off of Elijah and takes her to her bedroom. He gets her in bed and returns to the living room with a blanket in hand. He waits a moment and contemplates if he should just wake the man up or lay him down on the couch. He looks so peaceful and relaxed so it would be a shame to wake him. So Damon settles for covering him up and returning to his spot on the other end of the couch. It's a nice comfortable silence that lulls him to sleep as well.

They stay like that for a few hours until they're woken up by Lily who's grinning at them like she's discovered the secrets of the universe. God, she's so much like him.

Elijah is a little caught off guard because he hadn't planned on falling asleep but it was nice. When he looks over at Damon, he stiffens because the man is looking right back at him with the warmest smile.

Lily is suddenly latching onto Elijah and Damon grins because he knew she would be hyper after her nap. So they end up playing hide and seek with her. She makes them both hide which is fine, Damon hates trying to find her in such a big house.

He drags Elijah into the hallway closet which is a pretty nice spot considering Lily has walked by them at least four times since the game had started.

Elijah is nearly dead because he can't think straight or focus when he has Damon pressed flush up against his front. The closet is small and he's sure it's just for show because it's placed in such a random spot. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that he can feel the heat beaming off of Damon's body and he can feel the man's breath right on his neck and he really wants to die.

"I swear she never thinks to check the closet but yet I always end up hiding here when we play." He whispers as he shifts some against Elijah. "She never gives up though."

"...she is a persistent child." Elijah manages to whisper out.

"Yeah, she is."

Elijah is sure that he is going to die.


	4. Worth It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With time passing by, Damon and Elijah are growing closer. It's no surprise really, everyone expected this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty much mushy love. Also, so, SO sorry for this late update! I hope you guys enjoy!

It's been about five minutes or maybe ten but Lily still hasn't found them. It's hilarious really because as big as this house is, the girl has walked passed the closet about twelve more times and not once has she checked it. But Damon told him that.

Damon, right. The man that is in this closet with him playing hide and seek. Damon who is flush against him and basically invading every personal space rule known to man. But that is okay too. That is more okay than anything at the moment because who wouldn’t be okay with having the gorgeous blue-eyed Damon Salvatore this close?

"One day she will find you here." Elijah says because he’s trying to distract himself.

Damon grins and laughs softly— quietly because he's trying to persevere the one spot he can hide effectively for each game of hide and seek. "Yeah? You think so?"

"I know so."

"Oooh, you sound so sure of yourself. I think I like smugness on you. It's—" he freezes when he feels a hand on face, soft fingers...warm fingers brushing over his skin before dropping to his chin. It's quiet. It's _really_ quiet now. Not like before, it’s like an empty space kind of quiet. His breath is suddenly hitched and all he can feel is intense eyes staring at him even though it’s completely pitch black in the closet.

But then he feels more, he feels a firm hand on his hip and it's moving. It's sliding up his side and it isn't long before he finds himself up against the closet door. When his head is tilted back, he parts his lips to speak but he finds something else to do instead. He finds Elijah's lips pressing against his and its perfect. Elijah is perfect.

Damon wants to moan but he's supposed to be hiding from his daughter who's just outside this door, walking around aimlessly trying to find them. But he can kiss back. His lips parting again and catching against Elijah's bottom lip while one of his hands dropped to place over the one Elijah had on his hip.

"Fuck..." Damon mutters when there's a surge of air making its way to his lungs now. Suddenly this closet seems so much smaller for all the right reasons. "That's...that’s uh, a quick subject change."

Elijah smiles and wishes he could see Damon's face. "Perhaps." And now he's leaning in again, lips brushing over Damon's but tracing over his cheek then down to his jaw. He almost growls from sheer approval when the man is tilting his head back for him. This is just so right. He stops when his lips meets with Damon's neck and just as he's about to nip, the door comes flying open and they crash to the floor.

Damon lands with a thump, elbows taking most of the damage but Elijah lands between Damon's legs, hands grappling the ground on either side of Damon.

They both look like guilty sixth graders who are caught playing seven minutes in heaven by a parent.

"I found you!" Lily shouts, smirking down at the two men with her hands on her hips like she's someone's mother. "Who's counting next?"

Damon groans and drops back onto the floor completely and closes his eyes. “Honey.” He clears his throat and laughs because this is getting out of hand. “It’s Elijah’s turn.” He open his eyes and smiles at the man who’s still hovering over him. “You know, if _Mr. Elijah_ can let me up.”

Elijah’s eyes goes wide for just a moment before he pushes back from over Damon. He joins Damon and clears his throat. “Sorry.” He stands and extends his hand out to the man.

When Damon takes it, he’s pulled up and he just stands there for a moment, looking over Elijah’s face before grinning. “Count to thirty?” He asks, still holding onto Elijah’s hand. “I mean, if you can focus.”

A smile curls onto Elijah’s face and he’s nodding. “Of course. I am a teacher after all. Focusing is what I’m trained to do.” He steps closer and damn it, they are still gripping onto each other’s hands.

“Daddy, you and Mr. Elijah can hold hands later, we’re playing a game right now.”

Damon blushes and releases his end of the grip and looks down at his daughter who looks just like Katherine right now. “Yeah, sweetie. We’re ready. Let’s go hide.” He pulls away and follows Lily up the little steps that lead into the next room, but he’s glancing back at Elijah whose staring right back at him.

Oh, things just got more interesting.

* * *

Since then, since that kiss in the closet- two months have passed and there's been a shift between nights at his home and nights at Damon's. But tonight, it’s different, it’s different because there's no child involved. Lily is with Stefan and Caroline for the weekend so there's no small little four year old screaming and running around the house. There's no soft laughs echoing throughout the house. There's just Damon, standing across from him with just a kitchen counter between them. And there's Elijah, Elijah with half lidded eyes and a look of pure admiration as he watched the man chop up cucumbers. It hasn't even dawned on him that he's missed every single word that has left Damon's mouth within the last five minutes.

“And Stefan says I’m the one whipped. Please, I have way more resolve than he does.”

Elijah just nods.

“And I totally killed that obnoxious teacher who always hits on you even though you have no clue.”

“Hm.”

“Yeah, and I buried her in your backyard.”

“That’s—“

“If you say, _that’s great_ I’m kicking you out.”

“What?”

“Did you hear what I just said?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah?”

“No. My apologies. I just—“

“Keep staring at me?”

“…”

Damon grins and sets his knife down in favor of moving around the counter. He rubs his hands on his pants then steps right into Elijah’s space. “I just falsely confessed to murder and you wouldn’t even give me your disapproving look. I have to say, I’m a little disappointed.” He grins and places a hand on the counter and slips himself between it and Elijah. Elijah doesn’t move so this is okay.

“Murder?” Elijah asks, his eyes looking down at the man.

“Yeah, someone you knew and everything. It was really fucking incriminating.”

Elijah’s distracted again, his eyes are drifting down to Damon’s lips, then down to his neck. And it’s all downhill from there because he’s wearing that low cut sweater that he likes so much. The black one. He’s sure that was deliberate on Damon’s end. “Was it worth it?”

“So worth it. Hypothetical false murder is always worth it. I think I earned it.”

They’re close, really close and a nice dinner that he had planned was out of the question now. “When you ignore me like that, it pretty much gives me all the permission I need to take advantage of you. You know that right?”

“Take advantage of me?” Elijah laughs softly and is placing both of his hands on the counter, trapping Damon there. “And how did you come to that conclusion. I am fairly aware of my surroundings.”

“That’s not what I meant.” He grins and reaches up and runs his fingers through Elijah’s hair. He purposely messes it up because god, it’s like his hair is asking for it. “I mean, half of my plan is done. I got you here didn’t I?”

“Was that really a difficult accomplishment, Damon?”

“Sort of.”

“Liar.”

“Okay no, but it was so, so _hard,_ Elijah _._ ”

Elijah narrows his eyes, his head shaking in amusement. “Visiting that gutter of yours tonight, yes?”

“Of course. But more importantly, how _hard_ would it be to get you naked.”

Elijah’s grip tightens on the counter because those are words that Damon shouldn’t say. It’s been hard— difficult enough for him to stay focused. He’s not trying to make this all about sex…but Damon _is_ sex. “And dinner?”

“Dinner isn’t going anywhere. Just your clothes.”

“ _My_ clothes?”

“I said I was taking advantage of you. Keep up, teacher.”

He pushes at Elijah, but just enough so that he could jump up onto the counter, scooting back until he could pull the man between his legs. “Don’t ruin my setup.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He smiles and moves one of his hands to Damon’s thigh, drifting up until he was cupping his hip. “Are you worried about a conflict of interest?”

Damon laughs, he laughs loud because really? “Oh ’Lijah, the conflict of interest was destroyed when you felt me up in the closet a few months ago.”

“Well when you repeat it that way, it sounds much worse than I intended.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, you can feel me up when and wherever you want.” Because that wasn’t an issue. And the fact that Lily was his daughter and Elijah’s student wasn’t an issue either. “If you’re worried about Lily, don’t. She’s already planning our wedding. Literally.”  
  
Elijah laughs and both of his hands are on Damon’s hips. “I’m starting to think you lured me here under false pretense.”

Damon throws his head back and smirks. “There we go. You’re catching up. I pretty much told you that I’m taking advantage of you. Because not for nothing, but the last time that someone looked at me like you _always_ look at me, someone gets fucked.”

Elijah rolls his eyes because Damon and his choice of words. “How about you stop talking? Yes?” He leans down and parts his lips against the younger man’s neck and kisses down to a partially exposed clavicle. Then his hands are moving up and around to Damon’s front. He’s undoing the man’s jeans.

Damon offers help by lifting up his hips some when firm hands are beginning to pull them down. They don’t make it completely off because they are swept away in lust and sexual frustration. So they hang idle at his ankles. It’s not rushed, but it’s also not slow and sweet. Damon’s shirt goes next, hitting the floor along with Elijah’s. When Elijah actually discarded his own shirt was a mystery

Then there’s soft warm skin flush together. Rubbing and gliding against each other. Soft moans and loud pants are echoing throughout the kitchen. Damon’s lost, his mind is blank and all he can think is _Elijah—_ all he can feel is _Elijah_.

Elijah isn’t far behind because he’s gripping tightly at Damon’s hips, basically holding him up since he forced him so far off of the counter.

But then they’re moving— relocating to the chair. Elijah drops down first, then Damon gets situated right on top of him.

Damon’s just where Elijah’s wants him, panting and clutching onto him like his life depends on it. His legs are bracketed on each side of Elijah’s hips and one of his arms is wrapped around his neck while the other is straightened out- palm planted flat against the arm of the chair. It’s warm— they are warm, pressed together, sliding against one another as Elijah tightens his grip on Damon’s hips.

But one of his hands falters from where they are planted. It loops around and his fingers press into the small of Damon’s back, pulling the man closer if that’s even humanly possible.

Damon tips his head back farther and can’t help but let out a breathless chuckle. “You’re welcome.” He whispers, but it mostly sounds like a broken moan trapped against skin. “I mean, if I hadn’t of lured you here, who knows what you would be doing tonight. Obviously you wouldn’t be _doing me_ but you get my point.”

“I thought we agreed that you would stop talking.” Elijah whispers back against Damon’s neck. He’s smiling and he knows that Damon can feel it. “But, thank you.”

When Damon comes, he’s a wreck, his body is shaking and his eyes are closed. His face is pressed into Elijah’s neck and he can hardly speak when Elijah says something to him. Elijah’s not far behind him. He comes moments after Damon and he’s smiling against the man’s ear and whispering to him. “You’re going to puncture me with your fingers if you don’t loosen that grip you’ve got there.”

Damon rolls his eyes and sits up some, pulling his hands away from Elijah’s back. He’s sure there’s a few marks there. He doesn’t really want to move but he also knows that they can’t just sit in this chair in _this_ position forever. Who knows who could just waltz in knowing how many people have a key.

But they do stay like that, coming down from that high and trying to reign in the moment. But Elijah isn’t so ready to let Damon go either. His arms are wrapped around the other and he’s kissing lightly at his cheek. He loves this.

He loves Damon.

They just work. It’s like that saying, opposites attract. Because they are definitely cut from a different cloth. Damon is irrational, rough around the edges, and just all over the place. He speaks his mind and takes unnecessary risks. Elijah on the other hand is more reserved. He’s calm and quiet and keeps things on a certain level of cohesiveness. He’s collective and thinks things through. But when they are together, it’s like melting metals with different melting points together to create something otherworldly.

That’s why it’s a perfect match.


	5. I Know You Like It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting more intense and Elijah isn't sure if that's an extremely wonderful thing or something entirely different, but regardless, it's terrifying. Satisfyingly terrifying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO LONG SINCE I'VE LAST UPDATED! I am SO sorry, guys! But here you are, my dears! c:

Two months. It has been exactly two months since this thing that Elijah can't even explain has been happening. He's gotten to the point where he admits to himself that he's falling for this man. He still hasn't been able to say it to the person who needs to hear it, but that's fine. Things are great just the way that they are. Besides, who can be sad when Lily's around?

That was his last thought he remembers before he feels a light weight on his chest waking him up. He thought he was slightly having trouble breathing but really, it's Lily. Lily is squishing his cheeks together and he has to admit, it's pretty cute. He's thoroughly confused though.

Raising a brow, he locks his eyes on the little girl who looks like she's been crying. She's sitting on his torso just staring down at him with sad eyes. "Lily?" He calls out but doesn't move because she looks pretty damn content with touching his face. "Are you okay?"

She doesn't answer, just continues to squish his cheeks.

Elijah stares back but this time pushes up into a sitting position and asks again. "Lily, talk to me. Are you okay?"

"I miss daddy." She says with a sniffle.

Elijah just stares at her more but he can understand that. It's not like he can just take her home. Plus, it's been about a week since Damon left the country for work. Both he and Stefan has left. So he reaches out and hugs her as he scoots towards the edge of his bed. He glances at the clock and grins as he stands, holding onto the child tightly. "Then let's call daddy."

She presses her cheek to Elijah's and nods. "M'kay." That makes her feel significantly better.

Elijah's takes Lily to the living room where his laptop is still on the table from earlier when they both were in there doing homework. It takes him all of five minutes to download Skype and create an account for them to use. And he even listens when Lily insists that the name on the account should be, _'Elijah & Lily'_ but not with the word _'and'_. She wants the _'and sign'_.

"Ampersand." Elijah murmurs.

"Huh?"

"That's what the _'and sign'_ is called."

Lily just grins. "Oh. Ampersand, yeah, I want that."

Elijah grins back at her and types in Damon's name and searches for him. It doesn't take long because there really aren't that many Damon Salvatore's that pop up after hitting enter. Once he adds him, he sits and watches the screen with Lily. Elijah knows for a fact that Damon is awake because it's five o'clock in the morning for them so it's ten o'clock for Damon.

Just like he thought, Damon is awake and accepts the request. So Elijah doesn't waste any time. He hits the call button immediately.

It rings a few times and he can feel Lily squirming in his lap. Obviously she's anxious. When the ringing stops and he sees Damon's bright face and messy bed head, he just melts.

Damon is surprised to see Lily and Elijah up so early but he's not complaining because he misses his baby girl. "Lily-pop, good morning, baby."

"Good morning, daddy. I miss your face." She squeaks as she kisses her father's cheek on the computer screen.

"I miss your face too, honey. Is that grumpy Lijah bear that I see back there?"

"Yes!" She shouts as she tilts to the side to give her father a clear view of Elijah and all of his bed head glory.

Damon smirks and lightly taps his lips. "Good morning, Lijah bear." He's only teasing because he likes the reactions that he gets out of the man when he uses that nickname. But he'll let up eventually. Maybe.

Most likely not.

"Good morning, Damon." He manages to say all while moving back out of view. He can't handle Damon and his...well, his everything.

"Such wonderful bedhead that you have, Elijah."

Elijah definitely doesn't run his fingers through his hair to fix it. It's hopeless though and he only makes it worse.

"Sweetheart," he says, now focused on his daughter again. "Have you been behaving? If you haven't you don't get the surprise that I bought for you."

"I have! I helped wash the dishes yesterday!"

"Did you now? Did you manage to not flood the floor? You know like you did when I let you help me last time?"

Lily grins, nods and uses her index finger and thumb to represent a small space. "Only a little bit of water, daddy."

"Oh, well then I guess that's okay."

Elijah realizes that he's being too quiet but he doesn't want to intrude. A man and his daughter are having a moment and he feels like this shouldn't include him.

But the Salvatore's don't agree.

"Daddy, I've decided that Lijah should be like another mommy. Like a second mommy."

The room goes quiet and Elijah chokes on absolutely nothing. Perhaps it's his anxiety that he chokes on…or maybe it's his embarrassment that he's being referred to as Lily's second mother but at the same time, this is all flattering. Concerning, but flattering.

"Lily." Damon says, pausing for a moment while he chuckles. "Baby, that's um—" He laughs again and directs his gaze to Elijah who looks like a deer in headlights. "Well, what do you think about that, Elijah?"

"Um, Lily, you know I could never replace your mother right? No one can ever—"

"Silly, I know that. Mommy is always my number one mommy. I said _second_ mommy. Like an extra mommy. A Lijah mommy!"

Elijah laughs this time because this little girl is something else. "I see."

"So you are second mommy now. You do mommy things. You make the best fishtail braids…well kind of 'cause Klaus makes the best but you have nice ones too! And you make the best costumes when we play save the princess."

Damon is crying now from laughing so hard. How is this his daughter? She's way funnier than he is, he's sure of it.

He guesses it's official though, Elijah is _second_ mommy and they're probably going to spend the rest of the night/morning discussing this new Lijah mommy thing.

* * *

The second week goes by fast since Skype is now a daily thing in the morning. Lily still misses her father, but she's also having fun spending so much time with Elijah's family. That's becoming one of her favorite things to do.

"Cupcake?" Klaus calls out quietly as to not wake up Kol.

It's the day before Damon comes back home so Elijah figures they could spend their last day with his brothers. Klaus told them to come over for lunch and Kol had spent the night so why not make a day of it. Rebekah is in class but she plans to stop by later that evening.

"Ready?" Lily whispers, leaning over the arm of the couch with her nontoxic marker in hand.

Klaus nods and points to Kol's forehead. "Right there."

Lily smiles and starts drawing on Kol's forehead. There's a few smiley faces and a kitty face that she starts on when Klaus hands her the black marker. She gives him whiskers and a black nose before giggling. "Kitty Kol."

Klaus chuckles and stands up when his brother start moving around. He's obviously a bad influence, but it's totally worth it.

"Is this what happens when I leave you two alone?" Elijah says from the doorway with the groceries in his arms. He had stepped out for like twenty minutes to pick up a few things for lunch.

Lily smiles and looks up from where she's drawing. "Lijah!" She moves away from the couch and just latches onto his leg like she's used to doing. "We drew Kol a costume. Do you like it?"

Elijah looks over at his brother, examines his face and smirks. "Of course. I love it. It suits him." His brother is sly and quick on his feet. Now he can look like his inner cat. "How about we make dinner, Lily?"

The little girl nods and runs off towards the kitchen. She loves to help him cook, that means she can taste test everything in the process.

"Kol will want revenge." Elijah says to Klaus.

"We're prepared. We have battle plans, brother. We aren't amateurs."

"Of course you aren't."

Klaus smirks and grabs their markers and flees. He can't be caught red handed when Kol wakes up.

* * *

It's around eleven o'clock at night when Elijah hears his doorbell. He's grateful that Lily is out cold because it took him two hours to get her to sleep. She was too excited about the fact that her father is coming home.

When he makes it to the door he's met with Damon leaning against the door frame with his jacket draped over his shoulder and sporting that signature grin that he has. It's endearing but also so alluring that he wants to slam the door in his face. Elijah sometimes just can't handle how cute this man is. "Do you realize what time it is, Salvatore? Surely you have some manners left." He teases.

Damon grins and tilts his head. "I do apologize, Mr. Elijah but I just couldn't wait to see your pretty face. You know, Mr. Jawlines for days? I missed that a lot."

Elijah rolls his eyes and steps aside so Damon can come inside. "You're utterly ridiculous."

"You love me." He mutters as he enters the house, closing the door behind himself.

"Yes, I do." Elijah replies but doesn't realize the extent of his words.

Damon pauses and just stares at Elijah for a moment. Did he hear that right? Yeah, he did, he's sure of it but he doesn't know how to respond. He hasn't prepared for this yet. He never does.

"I love you _and_ Lily." Elijah adds on because there's no turning back now after blurting out what he has been thinking about for months now.

This is it for Damon. He moves forward and just grabs Elijah by the collar of his shirt and pushes him into the wall. He loves that. He loves that Elijah includes Lily because his daughter is the most important person to him in the world and Elijah is saying all of the right things.

Smiling, he presses closer and kisses him on the cheek. "I love you too." He kisses him again but this time on the lips. "I love you and your family."

The feeling is mutual.

And no one can describe how amazing that feeling is. 


End file.
